The Worth of Water
by sylvanius
Summary: Avalanche meets up for Cloud's birthday and Yuffie takes a few moments to ponder Vincent. One-shot. Takes place post-DoC.


**The title comes from this Scottich Proverb "We'll never know the worth of water 'till the well goes dry"**

**This takes place after DoC, at least five years I figure. I'd love some feedback so tell me what you think!  
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**Disclaimer: Not mine**

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Yuffie laughed as Cid slammed his drink down on the counter and challenged Nanaki to an arm wrestling competition. Her laughter only increased when the pilot failed to see the problem with this request. After Nanaki had trotted over to Barret Yuffie sighed and turned to see what the rest of AVALANCHE was up to. That night they had all gotten together to celebrate Clouds birthday, a tradition that had begun a few years ago. She considered getting up to go and bother, ahem, talk to the birthday boy in question but when she spotted him the ninja decided against it. He was currently sitting at the counter and his face was a rather bright shade of red. Across from him Tifa had a rather satisfied smirk on her face. Yuffie grinned, she would bet her favorite material that if he would have a much better birthday if no one else went over there for a while or at all for that matter.

Yuffie swung around on her stool to see Cid and Barret now engaged in an arm wrestle that she would bet her second best material that Cid would lose. Really, it couldn't be natural for one man to have arms that were as big as she was. Her eyes fell upon Reeve, Nanaki and Shelke who were in deep conversation, probably about something dead boring. There was only one person missing. Yuffie sighed and reached across the bar, pouring herself a drink. She briefly thought about heading over to sabotage Barret but decided against it; he still wasn't happy with her after she had put his cornrows into pigtails while he was sleeping. She huffed remembering his reaction; it only took a few seconds to get out. Maybe it was the photos she had passed out to everyone that had done it. She tapped her fingers on the bar, bored, before sighing and hopping down from the bar stool; taking her drink with her. Wanting some air she slipped her moogle cloak from the rack and slid out the door quietly.

Stepping outside Yuffie slipped the cloak around her shoulders and sat down on the steps. Breathing deeply she looked up at the stars above. It wasn't that cold yet but the smell of snow was already beginning to creep into the air. The weather was almost exactly the same as it was this day a year ago when she had sat in the same spot and looked up at the same stars. A deep sigh escaped her and she looked down at the drink she clutched in her hands but did not bring it to her lips. She had thought, hoped, that he would come tonight. It had been a year, seemed like the kind of thing he would do; all dramatic and whatnot, turn up one year to the day. After Deepground Vincent had begun to change, slowly but you could see it. It wasn't drastic by any means, hugs or sappy declarations of friendship and camaraderie or poems about hope and love but he was just _there_ more. It had begun slowly, he'd actually answer a call or visit someone without being practically kidnapped. Before they knew it, after a couple years, he was showing up to all the gatherings. Birthdays, holidays, reunions; he came to them all. He talked sometimes too, not a lot, leviathan forbid, but he could hold a conversation.

She grinned when she remembered some of the conversations she had had with him. At first she had just teased him about this and that until one party when he had shot an insult down with one of his own. She had simply stood there open mouthed and to this day she still swore that he had smirked. After that they had talked every time they had seen each other. Not necessarily for long but they had always made a point of finding time for a private conversation, just the two of them. It was also after that that he started regularly answering her calls. Mostly it was just her talking with a few well placed words by him but still; he had _answered_. Funny how it had all crept up so slowly that she, no one, had really even noticed it. It just became part of the scenery, it was expected. He hadn't been to a gathering in a year now. _That_ she noticed. He hadn't come to a gathering, visited or answered a call in a year. Yuffie almost laughed to herself, it was funny how you never _really_ realized the importance of something until it was gone. Sure he had always been absent in the beginning but that was just him then, it was expected. After he had changed though, that slow painful process, it just became so natural. At the time she never really thought about how much he affected her. The more parties, birthdays and holidays that went by though; she started to realize it more and more. Each time she thought 'he'll be at the next one' and even when he continued to be absent and she started to accept that it may stay that way she really did think he would have shown up tonight. It had been a year after all.

She closed her eyes and thought of Cloud's last birthday. It had been almost exactly the same as this one. Same place, same people, same weather. He had been there though. She remembered that she hadn't talked to Vincent yet when she saw him slip out the front door. She had followed him outside and sat exactly where she was sitting now, next to him. Usually she would have opened up with some lame joke or newly created nickname but that night she hadn't. She didn't know how long they had sat there in silence, the weight of something indescribable that had been building for months pushing down on them. It hadn't been uncomfortable though; there had been a sort of mutual acceptance that was lying between them, something that needed no words. Thinking back she knew that there had been something beautiful about those moments, those hours, however long it had been. Finally, after what could have been an eternity for all she knew, he had stood up and straightened his cloak. She hadn't looked at him, just breathed deep. She could never remember if she had been expecting what happened next but she assumed it hardly mattered now. He hadn't said a word, just stood in front of her and when she had looked up he had bent and gently brought his lips to hers. Almost as soon as it began it ended and he turned, walking away swiftly. She had sat there until he had disappeared into the distance.

Yuffie sighed, she really had thought he would come tonight. She jumped when she heard something break inside and got up quickly, pulling the cloak tighter around her shoulder against the creeping cold. She looked out into the distance where he had walked one year ago, maybe next year. Yuffie took one deep breath and turned, jolting inside.

"What are you fools doing busting up Tifa's bar? Do I have to knock some heads together?"

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**Review please!**


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